


Torch From The Sky

by SyntheticEngel



Category: Half-Life, Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Chellhoun, F/M, Fluff, bring nachos for the cheese forreal, i'm so sorry for this it's so cheesy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 06:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1973127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SyntheticEngel/pseuds/SyntheticEngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chell's got something scaring her, and the only person that can help isn't there. Chellhoun oneshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Torch From The Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Admittedly, I'm not the biggest fan of Half Life/Portal crossovers, mainly because they've been driven into the ground and done to death, but my close friend and I hatched this idea late one night of Barney and Chell being a couple somehow and it grew into something big. So... don't kill me for this pairing. 
> 
> Title taken from a Black Light Burns song, I own nothing.

Chell was scared of thunder.

She remembered nights as a child, stirred from dreams by a rumbling crack that shook her house. Loud booms that left her yelling for her mother, who would tiptoe into her room and sit on her bed, singing to her and lovingly holding her hand until she was lulled back to sleep.

There was no thunder down in Aperture. The facility was built to prevent any evidence of the outside world from seeping in, leaving Chell with fragmented memories of what it actually sounded like, of the foreboding fear that crept up inside every time she saw the sky glow with light.

Memories that pieced themselves back together the minute the storm hit.

She had been sleeping when the clouds had rolled in over the night sky, thick angry masses that covered any rays of moonlight that tried to peek out. It was mostly rain at first, which Chell could easily sleep through. But the moment the first rumble sounded off in the distance, she found herself awake, shaking like mad. She was used to jolting awake in fear - the nightmares of Aperture did that enough. These weren't nightmares, though. This was a thousand times more real.

To top it all off, the person who eased her back to sleep when she was scared was missing from his usual place next to her. Her searching hands were met with flattened pillows and striped bedsheets instead of a sleeping Barney Calhoun. A streak of light flashed through the small window. Chell prepared herself, throwing the blanket over her head as the thunder sounded.

Once the resonant roaring had died down completely, she poked her head out of the blanket and swung her legs over the bed, placing her feet on the concrete floor and standing up. With the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders, she padded out of her room and headed down the hallway in search of Barney.

She'd made it to the empty kitchen when another flash illuminated the large area. There was no time to think before the boom erupted, causing the whole building to shake. Chell dropped to the floor, her hands releasing the blanket and going straight to her ears. Even as the noise died down, she remained kneeling there in fear, rocking back and forth. _Get up, someone might find you like this_ , she reasoned with herself. Reluctantly, she picked the blanket back up and wandered towards the entrance gates. There was a man in a beanie hat holding an automatic rifle standing guard against the chain link fence. Chell cleared her throat to get the man's attention.

The man quickly spun around and smiled."Hey, you're Barney's little friend, aren't you?" he asked, lowering his gun. Chell nodded quickly. "He's guarding the west entrance tonight if you're looking for him."

_Shit_. She had completely forgotten about him going on watch duty. Doing her best to muster a smile, she nodded again to thank to guard before turning around and walking back the way she came. The west entrance was square on the other side of the facility. It would take her a few minutes to walk there if she hurried. Gripping the blanket tighter around her, she made her way through the building.

The areas that housed some of the remaining professors' equipment always spooked her. It was a large concrete dome, dimly lit an eerie green color with all sorts of complex machines humming idly. She tried her best to just walk through without looking at anything but was halted by another loud rumble. This time, she managed to remain upright, but god dammit she had to get out of that room. Taking a large breath, she made a run for the doorway and darted through, not stopping until she at last reached the west entrance. She went through the gate, wincing as the old metal creaked.

Barney was sat leaning against the metal fence, his gun in his lap as he picked at the skin around his fingernails, staring off into the trees. Silently, she dropped down next to him, causing him to jump in surprise.

"Chell!" Barney exclaimed as he wrapped his arm around her instinctively, moving his gun out of his lap and on to the ground next to him. "What are you doing up?"

Before she had a chance to explain herself, a lightning bolt struck down dangerously close to them. The almost immediate gunshot-like crack of thunder left her clutching on to him, her arms thrown around him, her face buried into the crook of his neck.

"Ah jeez, you're scared of thunder, aren't ya?" he asked. Chell nodded against him, her eyes clamped tightly shut. His free hand went to the back of her head, stroking her hair as another flash-boom combination touched down. She whimpered, shaking into his embrace as he clutched her tightly.

"S'alright, I got you," he said warmly, his lips pressing against the top of Chell's head. He rocked them back and forth for a few minutes, doing his best to calm her. "Did you know I used to be scared of thunder too as a kid?"

The confession surprised Chell, but she stayed latched on to him, shaking her head. "Sure was," he went on, "but my grandpa taught me a neat little trick. Count the seconds between the thunder and the lightning. Whatever the number is, that's how many miles away the storm is. Try it again when it happens."

Chell moved her head away from his neck and rested it on her shoulder, staring out into the night.

_Flash._

She waited, clutched against him.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. N-

_BOOM._

Eight miles.

"See? The storm's movin' away," he reassured her before look down at his old beaten watch. "My shift's over, let's get on home." Barney began to stand up, moving his rifle against the wall for the next to guard to pick up before leaning down to scoop up a blanket-wrapped Chell in his arms. His arms went under her knees and her shoulders, her hands reaching up and meeting behind his neck as he went back through the gate.

Off in the distance, the sky rumbled angrily. But this time, Chell didn't shake, jump, or scream. She felt safe with him, leaning her head against the fabric of his old CP uniform as they made the walk back to their room.

With Barney around, maybe the thunder wasn't as scary as she thought.

 

 


End file.
